Exchange City
Comments
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I had glue for BMX and exchange. It's kind of like liquid bandage (think clear nail polish) and it starts to peel off after a week or two. Scars healed very nicely and was told I could shower after drains came out after BMX and one week after exchange.
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LoriWNY,
Thanks. Does it peel like when you have a sunburn and your skin peels?
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Mommyathome, I went back to work about 4 weeks ago with restrictions for lifting especially because my job is quite physical and I only went part time. I am really pushing it to make it 8hrs. My PS wasn't concerned, but my primary MD was! I plan to be off 4 weeks this time so I can be really healed and have good energy as I work 12 shifts. I want to follow my surgeons advice closely in hopes of only having to do this once. I'm scared of seromas and having the implants shift as one side of the TEs is very high.
You have a lot more going on!!! I hope all goes well for you and you can have your last surgery successfully also. I will be thinking of you on "our" day!!!! 11 days to go.........:) love and prayers
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depends on your PS. Mine would not allow showers til the last drain came out. That was a very LONG 5 weeks.
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Some people are allowed to shower in the hospital. Others have to wait weeks until their drains are out. This is just the first of MANY things that will drive you crazy! Some wake up with a bare chest and others are wrapped like a mummy. Drains get pulled in four days or four weeks. Wear a bra 24/7 or don't wear a bra at all. Get 25cc fills or come out of the BMX with 300 cc's. Wait a month after the last fill or wait six months. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Makes you doubt your PS when you read the experiences of others. Bottom line is it doesn't seem to matter one way or the other. People do it every single different way and come out fine. There is no standard of treatment. Every PS is different. A few of us have complications no matter what "rules" we follow.
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so true, Sandra!
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I had glue and steri strips after my PBMX/Implants. The glue held everything together, and the strips were there more as extra incision support. I am glad my PS used glue, my incisions/scars are very clean looking. There is nothing special to do with the glue unless your PS instructs you otherwise. Just leave it be and don't pick at your incisions.
All PSs are different about showers and bras. After surgery mine wanted me in a sports like bra, no underwires. A light surgical compression bra or Genie bra was also fine for him. The idea was to provide support to allow for my tissues to heal (including any pocket work, I also had Alloderm stitched in) I am a month out and still wear one of these types of bras 24/7 except to shower. I find it more comfortable anyway at this point, especially while I am still healing, and I pretty much wore a bra 24/7 before surgery too so I am used to it! I see PS today so maybe it will change, but he did tell me before he does not favour underwires, at least not for many months as my implants are still settling in. A structured soft cup may be alright though. Fine with me, especially as I had IMF incisions and am enjoying being underwire free for first time in 20 years! However...I know people who had the same type of surgery as me and were told to wear underwires.
Always ask your PS for his or her instructions, as there is no one rule for all and it is best to follow what your own PS prefers.
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Mommy--the glue kind of peels and flakes like nail polish does. Just don't pick it off and let it fall off naturally. I had a couple of chunks of glue lift off part of my skin but was still attached to another part and was catching on my bra so I trimmed off the loose part VERY carefully with cuticle scissors.
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Oh my! Some of you had to wait days and weeks to shower? I feel super lucky. I was allowed to shower the next day both times. This thread is crazy. I truly can not believe all the different opinions for everyone PS's! It does support my theory that Dr.'s are only human and doing the best they can but they are not God like creatures who know everything
Divecat - I am glad I am not alone in my 24 hour bra/camisole wearing behavior. It is the only way I feel comfortable for now at least.
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Don't forget Glad Press N'Seal to keep things dry for any kind of surgery or wound. I was allowed to shower even w/drains as long as I wrapped myself with the Press N'Seal and nothing got wet. Works like a charm. A friend's son should have bought stock in the company after knee surgery he went through so many boxes.
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minus! I never thought of it for knee sx! Great idea! Although it will be at least a week before I try going upstairs to the big bathroom! LOL
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For anyone who has access to the picture forum and cares to see the difference between Natrelle Style 15 and Style 20 silicone round implants I just updated my thread there. I had a revision in April 2013.
Best wishes!
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Hipz...I was like you, I was able to shower when I was discharged from the hospital and I had four drains. It was hard, but I managed to use shoestrings and tied them around my neck. I would have to wait until my husband came home from work, but no way could I go weeks without a shower, let alone days. Rarely do I wear a bra, I can't stand the feeling. If I do wear one, it's a sports bra, otherwise I am enjoying the freedom.
Also, had glue and steri strips and had no problems. My periareolar incisions look great.
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I too showered 36 hours after my surgery and daily since then, and I had 4 drains. The PS covered my drain incisions with Tegaderm. It's a waterproof dressing, and they sent some home from the hospital with me. I was also able to buy it at CVS in the wound care section. It's made by 3M. I didn't have to change it very often because it worked so well, and it did not hurt when I peeled it off my skin.
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FYI - just to clarify - I obviously had several drains for my mastectomy but none for my exchange. Hope I never have them again! My friend had brain surgery and had some type of drain on the back of her neck so things could always be worse I suppose
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My yahoo horoscope for the day
- You're fighting against something or someone -- and you may not understand exactly why you're so upset. Just go with it, because sometimes you need to see battles through to their logical conclusion
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sandra - That about sums it up!!!
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Sandra -
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Sweetandspecial,
Great new avatar! Didn't recognize you!
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back to work tomorrow, 2 weeks post exchange. Not looking forward to it. Actually a bit apprehensive about it all. Don't want everyone asking about surgery and being nosy. Can I just tell them that I have spent 2 weeks in Barbados? Hhmmm... No tan though. Maybe Iceland....
Think it is all the post-exchange blues hitting in.
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Good luck Previvor. It is like ripping a band aid off when you return to work - believe me I know! This second time around with BC I only told my closest co-workers what my surgery was for because I really dislike repeating myself!
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Love all the positive thoughts today
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just to add to the variety show of PS rules:
I woke up with dressing under surgical bras both times. No shower until I saw PS for first post-op visit, but even with drains, I showered after that (used my pain pump fanny pack to hold the drains).
She used stitches for both BMX and exchange. (And she's quite the skilled seamstress - my BMX scars look a great - the extension into my armpit for my ALND is practically invisible!). She used steri-strips for my port removal, though. Because I had radiation, my exchange incisions are IMF. After both surgeries, once the surgical bras don't fit (after swelling / dressings are gone) she recommended sports bras or a genie bra.
When I saw her last week, she said IF I wanted to wear a bra I could wear whatever I wanted.
She encouraged walking "old lady amounts of walking" and working up to more, but wants me to wait a full six weeks before I start swimming laps again.
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oh - before I forget. Lotions for scars? What have you guys used? My PS said she has only found one cream she can recommend for her bc patients (because of all the crazy ingredients), but it was $79 a tube!
She said Vitamin E and cocoa butter were fine, too.
Anyone use one that they really love??
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My PS recommends vitamin E cream from a company called Fruit of the Earth or Eucerin. He works mostly with burn patients so says those two keep the skin as hydrated as possible. I bought Bio-Oil at Target after many people on these threads said it was so good. My physical therapist loves it for healing massage. It is oily so not always good to wear if it will stain your clothing. The vitamin E cream or the Eucerin cream will disappear when you rub it in.0 -
McKatherine! - I used BioOil and natural cocoa butter (the kind you buy at the health food store in blocks and scrape some off and rub it between your palms to liquefy and apply it) . I alternated both and then wore a dark colored tank to bed at night (or during the day). It's messy, but it worked for me. I also used Eucerin cream, like Sandra - when I wanted it to 'absorb' before I got dressed to leave the house. Many of the women on these boards swear by ScarAway silicone scar sheets and loved them. So as usual, one question has a dozen answers, but I hope this helps you a little.
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McKatherine,
I use a bit of Bio Oil on the scars...it does not take much. I massage it in and dab off excess. I know some people react to it. I am very sensitive and so far, so good. There are mixed opinions on using straight Vit E for scars, but you can also buy Vit E capsules, put a pinhole in them, and squeeze out the oil to use.
I also put Mepitac silicone tape over my incision sites. I prefer it to strips marketed specifically for scars, as it is thinner and more flexible on awkward sites (mine follow the IMF), and much more affordable. A 2cm x 3m roll is $12 CDN at my local home health care store, and you can cut to size easily. Each piece is still washable and reusable for up to a week so that roll will last me a while. Some also recommend using paper tape but I find I react to it after extended use...I am, as I said, pretty sensitive though. Mepitac is very gentle and one of the few tapes I do not react to.
I tend to be a pretty good "scar-er" ultimately as they end up as white as my pasty skin, and my incisions are pretty fine (no external sutures...just glue and steri strips) but the tape also adds some support and pressure to the scar, keeps moisture in, and prevents friction from my bra and clothing. One of my drain site scars is a bit more raised, red and sore due to a small incident with drain a few days after surgery, so I am putting some Mepitac on that as well and it feels good.
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Again all PS are different! My PS said Vit. E does not work when I asked and said the only thing that even remotely helped in his opinion was silicon sheets (I am surrounded my silicon!) Doctors! I will say I used that big tub of Vitamin E creme from Sam's Club (yellow container) religiously after my radiation 12 years ago and have had a lot of comments that my skin really did well with the radiation so it must help somewhat.
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